Image: Wikimedia Commons
Concerned over the untimely elephant deaths and rising human-animal conflicts in the region, Odisha’s Dhenkanal Forest Department is all set for a new action plan. Odisha is going to install sirens on the national highway to caution about elephant movement via a built-in infrared sensor to alert traffic on both sides.
To curb the man-elephant conflict, the forest department in the region will install automatic sirens on NH-55 and other elephant corridors in the district. It means that as soon as the elephant movement begins, the siren will buzz while turning on a red light. Even forest officers will get a message on their mobile phones so that authorities can manage traffic from both sides.
This pilot project is initiated by Dhenkanal Forest Department to protect elephants in collaboration with Change, a voluntary organization that works for elephant protection. Currently, the forest department is implementing this project in the Rasasingh area under Dhenkanal Sadar Range, which is an elephant-prone region. As part of the project, the installation of the sirens is on an experimental basis in Rasasingh and Haldiabahal, along the Dhenkanal-Anugul National Highway 55.
Image: Global Giving
Last week, we also shared a story on how Athagarh jumbo killings in Odisha have become frightening and alarming. Maybe such a siren system for alerting elephant movements can help in reducing the number of elephant deaths due to conflicts, which is one of the major reasons for elephant deaths in the region besides poaching, smuggling, electrocution, etc.
But with a sensor-based siren system, the forest department could manage to reduce this conflict between locals and elephants. It would warn people about elephant movements beforehand so the residents could avoid passing through the elephant corridors at that time.
This system can respond to both elephant herds and single elephants when they are crossing roads. Depending on the project’s success, it could be installed in other parts of the state and country as well.
Via: The Hindu